1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ion processing device, an ion chromatograph provided with the ion processing device as a suppressor, and an eluent generator provided with the ion processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ion chromatograph detects component ions by introducing a sample into a separation column, separating the sample into component ions, and then guiding the eluent from the separation column into a cell of a conductivity detector and detecting the conductivity. At this time, a suppressor is arranged between the separation column and the conductivity detector so that the conductivity of the eluent from the separation column is reduced by unnecessary ions being removed from the eluent so as to allow highly sensitive measurement. An electrodialysis suppressor may be cited as such a suppressor.
An ion chromatograph provided with an electrodialysis suppressor is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,433. As shown in FIG. 3, according to a conventional ion chromatograph provided with an electrodialysis suppressor 101, an eluent is delivered from an eluent reservoir 103 by a pump 105, and a sample is injected by a sample injection valve 107 and is separated by a separation column 109.
A separated sample is introduced into an ion exchange membrane device 113 by a conduit 111, and is detected by a conductivity detector 117 through the conduit 115. A detector effluent from the conductivity detector 117 passes through a splitter valve 119 formed from a three-way valve. The splitter valve 119 divides the detector effluent into two different conduits 121 and 123, and supplies the detector effluent to through channels on the opposite sides of two respective membranes adjacent to a center sample flow channel inside the ion exchange membrane device 113. The detector effluents which have passed through the through channels are disposed through a conduit 125.
According to conventional technology, after an anion sample or a cation sample separated by the separation column has passed through its dedicated suppressor, one of the ions desired to be detected is detected by the conductivity detector. Furthermore, according to conventional technology, the anions or the cations are separately measured in a suppressor operation mode and a non-suppressor operation mode.
An eluent generator is used to adjust an eluent to be used by an ion chromatograph to an optimal concentration. Conventionally, an eluent generator for an eluent for anion analysis and an eluent generator for an eluent for cation analysis each having individual functions are configured.